Residents of Chanot village, who have been staging a dharna for over a month demanding connection from the Bhakra Project pipeline to fetch water to their village, took out a tractor march to Hansi town on Thursday.
Led by 105-year-old Imrati Devi, hundreds of villagers, including a large number of women, participated in the protest as the march started from Chanot and culminated at the mini secretariat in Hansi town.
Police tried to stop the protesters from entering Hansi but later they were allowed to proceed through an alternative route. The convoy of tractors reached the Mini Secretariat in the afternoon. The police put up barricades at the main gate.
The protesters, including women carrying empty earthen pots to symbolise the water shortage faced by the village, smashed the pots outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office while raising slogans demanding Bhakra water.
Earlier, the SDM Rajesh Khoth held talks with the villagers and later Rahul Narwal met them. The DC assured the protesters for an amicable solution and urged them to maintain peace.
